But the footage is so raw, it's hard to look at - and hard not to look at. While many of the details in the videos cannot be independently verified by CNN, the images alone are still haunting.

A child with bloodied clothing lies in a hospital, unable to move because her legs have been blown off. Some videos show bodies in the streets. Blood flows down the faces of people who are said to be victims of the attacks.

The blood of Syrians continues to flow, as does their anger - at both the regime they claim is killing them and international powers that have yet to be able to help stem the bloodshed.

The violence ratcheted up again after Russia and China on Saturday vetoed a United Nations Security Council draft resolution that would have demanded al-Assad stop the violence and seek a solution to the crisis.

Many activists say they saw the vetoes as a green light for the Syrian regime to strengthen its crackdowns, though the government denies that.

After the vetoes, the U.S. and other governments said they would try other ways to pressure the Syrian government. On Tuesday, Susan Rice, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, told CNN's Wolf Blitzer that the days of al-Assad's leadership "are numbered."

"The situation is beyond description," the commission said in a statement. "Some of these martyrs were killed with shrapnel and the others were under the rubble, and their bodies couldn't be identified because they were in remains."

"We have pictures of children under the age of 14 with half of their faces blown away, with children under the age of 4 with all of their bodies with nail bombs. We have pictures of one child who was dying on the lap of his mother under the age of 1," Azzawi said.

Residents are trying to get the message out to media outlets around the globe that they are terrified of their government and of dying.

"The condition in the neighbourhood is quite miserable. We are just waiting to be killed." - resident of #Syria's #Homs aje.me/z1kb9M

U.N. officials have estimated that 6,000 people have died since protests began nearly a year ago. The Local Coordination Committees, a network of opposition activists that organizes and documents protests, said that at least 7,339 people have been killed.

CNN cannot independently confirm opposition or government reports from Syria because the government has restricted journalists' access to the country. That means much of what we're seeing is an uprising being streamed on YouTube.

While attempts at diplomacy have failed to curb the estimated thousands of deaths in the 11-month-old conflict, residents and opposition activists say they are desperate for help in stopping the slaughter.

Who is fighting, and what are they hoping for?

When Bashar al-Assad became president in 2000, he promised a modern Syria. Human Rights Watch has called his time as president "the wasted decade," with media that remain controlled by the state, a monitored and censored Internet, and prisons filled with dissidents.

Now, after claims of brutal crackdowns and undelivered promises, opposition supporters just want an end to his rule.

But it's not all that easy to figure out who is leading the charge against al-Assad.

Rival dissident army officers claim to lead the increasingly armed rebellion within Syria. The rift means it is unclear how much command the exiled officers have over defecting troops and other opposition groups.

One thing is clear: Those who say they have been oppressed by the regime, who have been brutally beaten or who have seen friends die want to make sure they are doing what they can to end violence for other Syrians.

Those who attend nightly rallies in Damascus tell CNN's Arwa Damon that all they want isÂ to be treated with dignity and respect, to voice their opinions without reprisal, to speak for the thousands killed, detained and tortured since the uprisings began in March.

.@arwaCNN's reporting reminds us of the consequences of inaction in #Syria- "Everyone's becoming used to death here"- goo.gl/qX25h

And then there are some who feel like those at the rallies but are afraid of the turmoil and uncertainty, and so they remainÂ caught in the middle.

On the streets of Syria, every day brings more reports of deaths. One disturbing video surfaced on YouTube purportedly showing several members of a slain family. In the video, the mother's eyes appeared to be gouged out. At least four children died with their parents. Opposition groups say the family was killed by government forces in Homs.

Russia and China said that although they support an end to the violence and want to promote dialogue between the Syrian government and the opposition, they believe the resolution would have been one-sided. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in particular said the draft would have called on the Syrian government to stop violence "without the same for the armed groups."

Western diplomats expressed amazement at the vetoes, saying the resolution was watered down to accommodate other Russian concerns. The resolution had dropped demands from an Arab League plan for Syria to form a unity government and for al-Assad to delegate power to his deputy. U.N. diplomats said this was done because Russia had been reluctant to sign on to any plan that could be seen as a mandate for regime change in Damascus.

Susan Rice, U.S. ambassador to the U.N., said the United States was "disgusted" at the veto, and she said of Russia, "This intransigence is even more shameful when you consider that one of these members continues to deliver weapons to Assad."

Russia is one of Syria's biggest arms suppliers, and both Russia and China have various reasons to have friendly relations with Damascus, analysts in the United States said. The total value of Syrian contracts with the Russian defense industry probably exceeds $4 billion, according to Jeffrey Mankoff, an adjunct fellow with the Center for Strategic and International Studies Russia and Eurasia Program. Russia also leases a naval facility at the Syrian port of Tartus, giving the Russian navy its only direct access to the Mediterranean, Mankoff told CNN's Holly Yan.

And China was Syria's third-largest importer in 2010, according to data from the European Commission.

Russia's Lavrov bristled at the veto criticisms, saying Western states "are trying to obscure the developments with hysterical statements on Russia's veto of the Syria resolution." China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, "China does not shelter anyone. We uphold justice and take a responsible attitude. We want the Syrian people to be free from the scourge of conflict and warfare."

Nations that supported the resolution are now trying other ways to pressure the Syrian regime. The Gulf Cooperation Council - which includes the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait - announced Tuesday that its member states are pulling their ambassadors from Syria. Spain, France, the United Kingdom and Italy called home their ambassadors as well, and the United States closed its embassy in Damascus, saying Syria wasn't addressing its security concerns.

Mark Toner, spokesman for the U.S. State Department, said that "by no means are we done here."

"We hear the people of Syria, and we want to move to support them. Weâ€™ve already got in place very strong sanctions, both bilaterally and multilaterally, and weâ€™re going to seek to take additional steps against the Assad regime," he said this week.

For some, the call will be for the global powers to finally put an end to al-Assad or to help the people of Syria do it themselves, in a fashion similar to Libya and the downfall of late strongman Moammar Gadhafi.

Some want to see al-Assad fall at the hands of his own people.

If the people of Syria put the future of #Syria in foreign hands they have forfeited it. The regime must fall at the hands of Syrians alone.

With the failure of U.N. action because of the veto, the conflict could escalate, wrote Shadi Hamid, a director of research at the Brookings Doha Center and a fellow at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution, in a column for CNN.

â€śWith that fateful decision, the conflict moved to another, more dangerous stage,â€ť Hamid wrote. â€śThose who warn that Syria will descend into civil war are a bit behind: It is already in civil war. Now it will only intensify.â€ť

Hamid said the next step may be deciding whether military intervention is necessary, and if so, by whom.

â€śSo we find ourselves in an odd but increasingly common situation, where Syrians themselves are more enthusiastic about foreign military intervention than Americans are,â€ť Hamid writes. â€śIt is, in this sense, the reverse of Iraq, which was rightly seen by many as a tragic Western imposition.â€ť

How much do we owe it to Syrians to step in and help drive the final nail into the coffin of al-Assad's regime? And would it be different than the situation in Iraq, because perhaps some of the people there would like the U.S. and others to step in?

â€śHere, it is Syrians themselves who are pleading for the international community to come to their aid. In December, the Syrian National Council "formally endorsed" foreign intervention,â€ť Hamid wrote. â€śIf they formally request military assistance - presumably the next step - we have a moral responsibility to take it seriously.â€ť

I cant begin to imagina the horror the Syrian people are facing. People criticizes Obama but really what can he do? He doesnt nor ever had the power to dictate what China and Russia veto. After all , they are just doing for self interest since Syria trades weapons for them. They should grow some morality

CNN!!! Listen up. This is complete baloney. The is no insurrection in Syria. Listen to Webster Tarply from Syria.
http://www.bushstole04.com/ The killing is being done by CIA terror squads. This is just Libya 2.0, that was
a CIA operation too....

It's as if there is only one issue after another. We've seen the hardships of other countries such as Libya and Egypt and while we've moved forward, we take steps back. The resolution was not passed and now Syria is still in the same place where it used to be, if not, worse. The violence is still in place but other countries are still preventing them from moving forward.

We must not turn a blind eye to this Catch-22 situation. Given the challenges that exist, there are no easy solutions. One one hand, you have a steadfast dictator who refuses to relinquish his power. It's obvious that this family has been in power way too long and will do anything to keep it. It's apparent he has neglected the powerless Syrians who have lived under his tyranny much too long. Dictators have a troubling future ahead, given the advent of social media. These youtube posts are horrific and the blatent disregard for powerless children, women and fathers who have lost their lives. I feel terrible for the innocent and until this corrupt regime is dealt with, more people will continue to die in the streets. I suggest we arm the rebels, enact a no fly zone, and bring in the drones. Unfortunately, it's the only way to respond to crimes against humanity. Sovereignty should only apply to regimes who follow UN accords.

It is such an abomination for Bashar al-Assad and his regime to create such a predicament in which people who are innocent such as children, women, elders and many others to suffer throughout such a violent and uncalled for situation and are depicted as the reasoning for Assad's wrath. Bashar al-Assad's regime is attacking his people for the purposes to attempt and contain a power which he believes is inherited based on the previous ruling throughout Syria that his family withheld for numerous years. Bashar al-Assad justifies his actions by stating that the Syria has its own dilemmas and people are being rebellious therefore; other countries such as the U.S, United Kingdom, France, India, South Africa and various other countries are attempting to aid those against Assad, but Russia's veto as well as China worsen the situation by neglecting the issue that many people seem to be aware of and take action. Although some of the counties attempting to aid Syria have committed such actions as the Syrian government is doing, these countries are attempting to eradicate their mistake by aiding the victims of the Syrian government.

If people want freedom, then they should be the ones that fight for it. Why must it be American men and women that fight and die for other people, when those people turn around and hate us a few years later? We have our own problems to deal with, like a $15 trillion national debt. If we go bankrupt then we really won't be able to help anybody else, let alone ourselves. What Assad is doing is terrible, but who's to say the next group will be any better? Let Syrians be responsible for it themselves so they can't blame us when things don't turn out to be great as they had hoped.

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